This invention relates to the use of the compound of formula I ##STR2## for the production of a pharmaceutical agent.
Compound I (dihydrospirorenone) is described in DE A-26 52 761, among others, as a diuretic of the aldosterone-antagonist type.
It can be seen from DE-A 30 22 337 that compound I, at doses at which the antialdosterone effect already appears, also exhibits a marked gestagen effect. Therefore, compound I can be used alone or in combination with estrogens in contraceptive preparations.
According to DE-A 30 22 337, these preparations are to be used for women who desire contraception and suffer from high blood pressure or in whom blood pressure rises when they take oral contraceptives. Thus, also for women predisposed to increased blood pressure, hormonal contraception is possible.
A combined preparation for substitution therapy and contraception for women before menopause (starting at about age 40) is known from EP-A 0253 607. This combined preparation contains an estrogen from the group
17beta-estradiol, PA1 ethynylestradiol and PA1 mestranol PA1 levonorgestrel, PA1 gestodene, PA1 desogestrel, PA1 3 ketodesogestrel and PA1 norethindrone.
and a gestagen from the group
A composition so selected should balance hormonal irregularities in the transition phase of premenopause and help to alleviate the discomfort caused by the hormonal change of the female organism during this phase. Simultaneously, such a composition guarantees the contraceptive protection still necessary at this age.
For various, known reasons and because of the increase in the incidence of contraindications with increasing age, the taking of the usual hormonal contraceptives is recommended for women only until about age 35, so that a hormonal treatment during premenopause and a substitution therapy during menopause using doses that simultaneously have a contraceptive effect can be considered problematic.
Besides these circumstances justifying contraindication, in women of such advanced age, symptoms of androgenization such as, for example, beard growth, deepening of the voice and impure skin are often observed; further, a rise in blood pressure can often be noted.
Thus, there remains a need for good agents for hormonal therapy, especially for such woman, including achievement of one or more of such effects.